572 
Letters, Extracts, Notices, fyc. 
the author personally, many of them in situ, and show the 
actual surroundings of the birds* homes. The black and 
white drawings of the birds are by Mr. Neville Cayley, so 
well known for his life-like drawings and paintings of birds. 
The letterpress will contain descriptions of the birds, their 
nests, eggs, and haunts, and an account of their life-history. 
The preparation of the plates is now well advanced. The 
work will be issued in parts, as the letterpress can be got 
ready. The price to subscribers will probably not exceed 
25 shillings for the complete work, uocoloured. 
Capt. Boyd Alexander .-—Our excellent correspondent 
Capt. Boyd Alexander, of the 7th Rifle Brigade (who is 
always somewhere “ in the front **), has been seconded, and 
has left England for service with the Gold-Coast Con¬ 
stabulary. In a letter, dated on board the R.M.SS. f Jebba,* 
on May 22nd, he writes that he was expecting to join the 
Relief Column for Coomassie at Cape Coast, and “ hoped to 
see a little bit of active service.** Just at present, he feared, 
he would hardly be able to make a collection of birds, but 
Capt. Alexander is sure to keep his eyes open. 
The new Catalogue of Eggs. —Mr. Oates*s f Catalogue of the 
Birds*-Eggs in the Collection of the British Museum,* the 
first volume of which is in the press, will make altogether 
four volumes, each with about 15 plates. The total number 
of specimens dealt with is estimated at 60,000. The classi¬ 
fication of the f Hand-list of Birds * will be followed. 
References to the particular eggs contained in the Collection 
will be added, together with descriptions, measurements, and 
other details. 
